Farm News/Communication
Good day to everyone on this beautiful spring day. Thanks to the weather, we have certainly had a productive week here at the farm and here are some pictures showing some of the works that we have been up to. One large accomplishment was getting more cane berries planted and getting all the perennial cane berries mulched with our own forest wood chips and leaves. The asparagus that was started last year are starting to emerge out of the soil, but we are not having enough coming up in plentitude at the same time yet to be able to offer on the on-line store. The strawberry plants are starting to get a few blooms on them here and there and are really growing along. We hope everyone is excited about the first strawberry harvest at Arugula’s Star Farm this year! The French Sorrel has come on even more from last week, so you will have to see about trying some of this if you missed it last week. Also, for any of you avid juicers, we have just what you will be excited about....delicious, sweet, and nutritious wheat grass! Please have a look at our On-line store to see if anything is of interest and we hope to be seeing you on Wednesday perhaps.
The end of March is blowing on to it’s end with ever so gusty early spring winds. We hope everyone enjoyed the few lovely spring days last week. For this year thus far, we have noticed the trend of not many sunny days, but when the sun does come out and show forth in all it’s energetic splendor, those days have been filled with more color and beauty than a mere average nice weather day. On the sunny days, the lighting in the afternoon and evening has been so magical that there has been so many images in the surrounding ecosystem that should and needs to be captured in ones photographic memory. The University School of Nashville evening class that was held here on this past Saturday had one of these exceptional sunny days, so everyone really got to enjoy the beauty and energy that the leipers creek valley beholds.
Remember, if you too would like to come on out to Arugula’s Star Farm for a Farm Tour/Pack your own Picnic Event, please put the date of April the 13th on your calendar and let us know your are coming.
We were able to enjoy the top bald of the farm this weekend and we captured some pictures to let you see the Agrarian Interns, Max & Stephen, and their great camp that they have made their home.
Arugula's Star Farm On-Line Produce Store
For Wednesday the 31st delivery/pick up, we will be having a new offering this week of a delicious and nutritious young greens mix of Red & White Russian Kale, Champion Collards, & Tenderleaf Hardy Greens. Also, as the French Sorrel has started growing up just enough to make a very small harvest, we will be offering some French Sorrel in small packages. The scallions, cress, eggs, and silver maple trees will all be making a repeat, so you can find all of these items at the store again.
Hope to be seeing you on Wednesday.
Thanks,
Allison Mills Neal
Here we are, into the new season of spring and what else could this bring?…it seems a continuation of raining showers. The valley of leipers creek has sure had it’s fill of rain over the last 6 months. There is always such a slim opportunity for field preparation and planting in the early season, especially when one is trying to be in sink with the moon’s phases. It had dried out just enough two weeks ago for us to direct seed the first seeds of the season, which consisted of sweet snap peas, escarole endive, swiss chard, lettuces, and cilantro. Then just yesterday, before the rains were to start again, we were able to get into one of the fields to cultirotate in preparation for a spring planting of cover crop.
We have decided to offer yet another Arugula's Star Farm Tour opportunity, that will not be in connection with any other institution or organization, like the TOGA tour or the up and coming USN tour. This on-farm tour will be held on Tuesday April 13th and will start promptly at 10:30 a.m. and will last till about noon or so. This Farm Tour is a great opportunity to see the beauty of spring, by walking through a local farm’s fields of green. All at the same time, you will be learning more about Organic Farming, What goes into your local food production, and What it means to Taste the Truth of Genuine Agricultural Practices. This tour is open to all ages, as long as the one’s age causes minimal distraction. This tour will be open to any questions, so please come curious. This on-farm tour would be an excellent opportunity for anyone that is involved in a small/local group or club for it be your monthly field trip; would be a great day for an interested group of friends; or for parents and behaved children. If the day turns out to be a beautiful day and you would like to pack a picnic, then you would be more than welcome to stay after the tour to enjoy yourself on a brought chair or blanket. Of course we will not be involved in your own personal picnic, so please bring bags for your trash and any other items that you will need to have an enjoyable picnic. This On-Farm tour will cost $10.00/person and all the proceeds will be going to the Windfall Agrarian Initiative.
The Deadline for signing up will be by April the 11th. Please contact us by e-mail allie@arugulasstarfarm.com or phone 931-682-3314, to sign-up.
This week at our On-Line Store, our fields have sprung forth with some available Belle Isle Cress and some Evergreen Hardy Scallions, so please have a look!
Hopefully ever one is anticipating the Spring Equinox that will be occurring this coming Saturday at 1 pm. We have sensed it's near arrival by the re-awakening and greening of the fall cover crops and by the emerging tree buds. The French Sorrel has also started to make its way out of the ground, along with the Belle Isle Cress, and the first green leaves of the strawberry plants!
As to create a staring point this year for a couple of our Farm’s long term goals, in the categories of creating Hands-On Agrarian Intern Programs & The Sharecroppers Exchange, we have been most fortunate to be able to have our first two full time live-on interns here at Arugula’s Star Farm. Max Butler and Stephen McDonald are now one in the same with all the happenings, cycles, growing, infrastructure projects, gathering, caring, sustenance, stewardship, and learning, and we are very excited for us all in this new undertaking!
Here lately we have been working on the management and rejuvenation of all the perennial fruit crops, like strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and gooseberries & the asparagus that we started last year in 2009. We will be expecting the first great gatherings of the strawberries and the asparagus this year. These will be two if the first crop offerings we will have for the 2010 season and these are wonderful organic foods to look forward to on the on-line store.
The March 5th Tennessee Organic Growers Association (TOGA) Farm Tour day turned out very nicely, as the weather was perfect for an enlightening farm tour. We would like to thank all that were able to participate. The next Farm Tour and Educational opportunity will be coming up on Saturday March 27th, so to learn more about this please see our Event Calendar and click on USN Scholorship Fundraising Evening Classes.
The items in the on-line store are the same as last week and to order please click here to go to the Arugula’s Star Farm On-line Store. If you have not tried our Golden Eggs yet, please have a try and order early, as we sold out last week.
Thanks,
From all of us here at Arugula's Star Farm.....even the chickies too!
If this is your first time receiving this mailing list letter, you can always refer to our website under What's New, to see what e-mail letters you have missed in the past. For example, last week was the first letter sent out and that explains how the Arugula's Star Farm On-Line Store works, so you might enjoy referring back to that particular one. This week we still have our Golden Eggs available and we have added the new item of Silver Maple bare root seedlings. You can read all about the Silver Maple Seedlings in the Arugula's Star Farm On-Line Store.
We hope that planting a tree might be in your near future, as spring has almost sprung!
Matthew and Allison Mills Neal
Hello to everyone, from Allison and Matthew here at Arugula's Star Farm.
This is an invitation for you to view our new 2010 Arugula's Star Farm website.
We hope that everyone will take a look, as to be curious, read, & listen!
I know that a lot of you have been such wonderful customers and friends of the past and we hope you will be excited to see How you can buy our Certified Organic Produce in the 2010 Growing Season.
You will be able to read all the How's, When's, Where's, and What's on our website, and if you have any questions after taking a look into all that we are Offering or Working Towards this Season please feel free to Contact us.
We are hoping to have delicious fresh produce to offer starting in early May, so this is when you will be able to start purchasing our produce at the On-line Produce Store. Until then though, if you do indeed choose to sign-up to be a supporting customer of the Arugula's Star Farm On-Line Produce Store, you will be receiving e-mail letter links to let you know when we have other available items like our wonderful eggs, or maple tree seedlings. In fact, this week we have eggs available, that are awaiting you for an order at the On-Line Store.
If you like what you see, please encourage others to take a look at our website and to sign-up for our mailing list.
Thanks a bunch,
Allison Mills Neal
Cheers and here we all are into the New Year of 2010.
As a new year always comes with some changes, Matthew and I would like to let you have a preliminary glimpse into what Arugula's Star Farm will be accomplishing and offering, in the 2010 season. We just finished working on The Local Table publication www.localtable.net update and thought we would share what we listed with you, our 2009 CSA members and buying customers, early, as the spring magazine will not be coming out till March or April. After the website completion, it will be then that we will send out a newsletter to all you our customers, friends, and mailing list members to let you know of its completion. So please sign up to our mailing list, if you are not signed up already.
Now, for The Local Table, 2010 season, public announcement:
Season: April-November
Our farm is located on the fertile Leipers Creek Valley, about 9 miles southwest of Leipers Fork, in the Bethal Community. Most recently, our 152 acres were placed in a permanent conservation easement with the Land Trust for TN, and will forever be available as farm land, protected from sprawling development. This year we are altering our normally offered, 28 week CSA season, as we will be undertaking major infrastructure projects, cover cropping, and working on the establishment of a non-profit, Educational Organic Working Farms Initiative named Windfall Agrarian Initiative. The 2010 season will consist of e-mail direct sells of limited seasonal amounts of asparagus, strawberries, greens, legumes, root vegetables, melons, eggs, and other produced on farm items. By signing up to be apart of our e-mail direct selling list, you will have the option of placing an order, then to be picked up at Elmington Park, off of West End and I-440, or On-Farm. In the future, look for Arugula's Star, an on-farm, all organic, outdoor/indoor dining venue. For more information and to learn how a tax free donation can help a local farmer conserve land, educate others, and produce organic foods to help feed and enrich your local community, please see our website. Be curious, ask questions, and sign-up for our newsletter mailing list.
Overall, we are really excited about what we are working towards this year in 2010, and if all goes well we are planning on having the CSA up and going again in 2011. I think the e-mail direct sells will allow a lot of you to be able to purchase some seasonal items from us and then for full consistency, be able to experience shopping at local farmer's markets, to fill in with whatever else you might desire. You could also choose to sign-up with another farm for a CSA in 2010. Or maybe you will also choose to experiment with a back yard garden of your own, for fun and for sustenance.
Thanks and we will be in touch,
Matthew and Allison Mills Neal
Cheers and here we all are into the New Year of 2010.
As a new year always comes with some changes, Matthew and I would like to let you have a preliminary glimpse into what Arugula's Star Farm will be accomplishing and offering, in the 2010 season. We just finished working on The Local Table publication update and thought we would share what we listed with you, our 2009 CSA members and buying customers, early, as the spring magazine will not be coming out till March or April. After the website update/completion, it will be then that we will send out a newsletter to all you our customers, friends, and mailing list members to let you know of its completion. So please sign up to our mailing list, if you are not signed up already.
Now, for The Local Table, 2010 season, public announcement:
Season: April-November
Our farm is located on the fertile Leipers Creek Valley, about 9 miles southwest of Leipers Fork, in the Bethal Community. Most recently, our 152 acres were placed in a permanent conservation easement with the Land Trust for TN, and will forever be available as farm land, protected from sprawling development. This year we are altering our normally offered, 28 week CSA season, as we will be undertaking major infrastructure projects, cover cropping, and working on the establishment of a non-profit, Educactional Organic Working Farms Initiative named Windfall Agrarian Initiative. The 2010 season will consist of e-mail direct sells of limited seasonal amounts of asparagus, strawberries, greens, legumes, root vegetables, melons, eggs, and other produced on farm items. By signing up to be apart of our e-mail direct selling list, you will have the option of placing an order, then to be picked up at Elmington Park, off of West End and I-440, or On-Farm. In the future, look for Arugula's Star, an on-farm, all organic, outdoor/indoor dining venue. For more information and to learn how a tax free donation can help a local farmer conserve land, teach others, and produce organic foods to help feed and enrich your local community, please see our website. Be curious, ask questions, and sign-up for our newsletter mailing list.
Overall, we are really excited about what we are working towards this year in 2010, and if all goes well we are planning on having the CSA up and going again in 2011. I think the e-mail direct sells will allow a lot of you to be able to purchase SOME seasonal items from us and then for full consistency, be able to experience shopping at local farmer's markets, to fill in with whatever else you might desire. You could also choose to sign-up with another farm for a CSA in 2010. Or maybe you will also choose to experiment with a back yard garden of your own, for fun and for sustanence.
Thanks and we will be in touch,
Matthew and Allison Mills Neal
October 21st
What Genus Specie Varieties your basket contains:
1.)A varietal mix of Sweet Potatoes (all sweet potato starter slips came from a certified organic sweet
potato preservation center called Sand Hill Preservation Center up in Iowa, which is why you will see
types of sweet potatoes you might have never seen before!)
2.)The last of the Peppers (Hot and Sweet Varieties)
3.)Eggplant varieties of Louisiana Long Green, Turkish Orange, Applegreen, and Black Opal
4.)White Russian Kale Bunch
5.)Lacinato Kale Bunch
6.)Rouquetta Arugula and Red Oakleaf Lettuce Mix
7.)Olga Romaine Heads
8.)Sweet Dumpling Winter Squash and Delicata Winter Squash
09' CSA Basket Journal #24
October 28th
What Genus Specie Varieties your basket contains:
1.)Batavian Escarole Endive Bunch
2.)Rainbow Swiss Chard Bunch
3.)Chioggia, Detriot Dark Red, or Goldstone Beet Bunch w/ edible Beet Greens and Stems
4.)Chinese Cabbage Heads
5.)Cherrybelle Radish Bunch w/ edible Greens
6.)Goldstone Beet Greens Bunch or Detriot Dark Red Beet Bunch (morning CSA members)
7.)Purple Peacock Brocolli (afternoon CSA members)
8.)Waltham Butternut Winter Squash
Howdy to all, as you are enjoying your wonderful fall vegetables!
Here is a quick link to let you see and hear a toon by the Hog Slop Strin Band that played at our 2nd Annual Fall Farm Gathering last weekend. We were very sad that so many CSA members were not able to come, so at least here you can see some of what you missed. The afternoon/evening really was just perfect fall weather. Allison and Matthew
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P95mrc9ngr4
Oct. 14th
What Genus Specie Varieties your basket contains:
1.)Dry Shell Beans of Octobers (pink & white bean inside), Calypso (black and white bean)
2.)Walthan Butternut Squash
3.)Sweet Long Peppers of Nepolean Sweets and Corno di Toro
Hot Peppers of Ring of Fire and Cycklon Polish Hot (these Hot Peppers
are great for drying and then to be used through winter)
4.)Bulk Caribe Cilantro
5.)Collard Greens Bunches ("The Headless Cabbage")
6.)Batavian Escarole Endive
7.)Crisp Mint and Olga Romaine Lettuce Heads
Good evening to all on yet another dreary fall day, but I am sure that even if you are blue then maybe the thought of this week's wonderful basket of greens, peppers, golden orange sweet butternut, and crunchy peppers will add a pep to your step and some smiles in the kitchen and at the table!
The weather is suppose to be clearing at the start of next week. Therefore, we are hoping that the week will continue to stay nice all on through the weekend, so we will have some great weather for the Fall Gathering. We forgot to ask many of you on Wednsday if it was looking favorable for you to attend, so remember to let us know if you are planning on coming. We really would love for as many of you our CSA members to be able to come, as this gathering is in part an appreciation to all of you for being apart of Arugula's Star Farm CSA! It will also allow you to ask as many field questions that maybe you have been curious about and just have not asked about at the basket pick-ups.
I think I might have heard all of you crunching into those wonderfully crisp sweet peppers last night all the way out here in Maury County... goodness, the peppers have been so very crisp and full this year with all of this rain that they really do make for a great crunch. When the peppers are this good they are really great to eat whole just like an apple, and if you have never thought about just biting into a pepper like an apple then I highly recommend trying it.
I bet everyone is thinking about a delicious warm dish of peppers, beans, and cilantro. Since there is not a magnanomous amount of dry beans this week I would imagine that you should shell them and use them this week without neccessarily trying to save them. Just shell, soak overnight, drain, and then prepare like you would any store-bought dry bean.
Also, remember that you have the Basket Journal Archives from the '08 CSA season that you can go back and look through and learn more about all types of different "vegetables of the week." For example you can look back at 08' Archive Basket Journal #6 to read about Endive, and to find a great Collard Green Slaw recipe.
Here is a great dinner idea for this week that we had last night for dinner....
- A fine chopped Crisp Mint Lettuce, and Batavian Escarole Endive Salad tossed with Olive Oil, Red Wine Vinegar, Salt, Pepper, and some Walnuts.
- A warm Pasta, Pepper, and Cilantro Dish served topped with a great raw Hard Goat's Milk Cheese that came from Whole Foods called Tommes Des bois noirs Herve Mons
Heat some olive oil in a pot and then add about 1/4 of a cycklon polish hot pepper minced or 1 whole ring o fire pepper minced (take out seeds before mincing). Then add a pear that has been diced to the warm oil and hot peppers. Sautee this around for about 1 minute or so and then cover with a lid. Next add about 3-4 thinly sliced peppers and sautee around and some salt to taste. Add some splashes of vinegared red wine and then cover and by this time have your heat turned down to low-med. Chop up some of your cilantro and add this in. Then you final step will be adding the drained pasta back to peppers and then pouring your reserved pasta water in and stiring around. Thinly slice your cheese so it will be ready to place on top of your servings. Also, after plating up your pasta you can add some more olive oil to stir around and for your desired taste.
Enjoy and Cheers!